Tuesday, January 10, 2017

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Fewer than 10 years ago, the Baptist seminary in Guatemala City was on the verge of closing its doors.

Its library bookshelves were nearly bare; its only technological resources were decades-old computers; and its roof had decayed to the point that classes could not be held when it rained lest students become drenched by the impertinent dripping.

Beyond that, the seminary's reach was limited, leaving would-be ministers who lived far from campus with no option but to fend for themselves. Read More

WASHINGTON (BP) -- A Washington D.C. church's decision to call a legally-married lesbian couple as co-pastors has led a fellow District of Columbia Baptist Convention pastor to call for "prayerful dialog" between convention leadership and the church. A Southern Baptist Convention seminary president suggested the DCBC should disfellowship the congregation.

Meanwhile, DCBC executive director Robert Cochran told Baptist Press the convention has "no plans to disassociate" with the church and he "has never discussed the issue of homosexuality with" the congregation's leaders. Read More

FRANKFORT, Ky. (BP) -- The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new Kentucky law requiring women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound first. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- A 47-point buck killed by Tennessee Southern Baptist Stephen Tucker is one step closer to official certification as a world record holder for a whitetail deer.

A four-judge panel representing the Boone and Crockett Club measured the deer's rack Jan. 9 and gave it a score of 312-3/8 in the non-typical rack category, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) said in a press release. The score exceeds the previous world record of 307-5/8 set in 2003 in Albia, Iowa. Read More

Melanie Lenow realizes she can't keep her children safe 100 percent of the time, "but I know God loves them even more than I do and whatever He chooses to allow in their lives is for the purpose of His glory." Read More

Formed in 1946 by the Southern Baptist Convention, and supported with Cooperative Program funds, Baptist Press (BP) is a daily (M-F) international news wire service. Operating from a central bureau in Nashville, Tenn., BP works with four partnering bureaus (Richmond, Va.; Atlanta, Ga.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Washington, D.C.), as well as with a large network of contributing writers, photographers and editorial providers, to produce BP News.